Nox Battalion
by WeLonelyOldSouls
Summary: Shortly after the dawn of the Clone Wars, command ran into a problem. There weren't enough commanders to go around. Some battalions lacked a command unit. Most were content to wait. Some however, took matters into their own hands. Clone wars major OC usage. Independent from main story for the most part.


"New orders: capture the garrison commander." My commpad buzzed; the message scrolling across my feed. _Damn, I knew this mission was too easy for the asking price. At least I'm being compensated for the added risk. Plus, you know, I can demand more for them upping the severity. More money is always good._

I hit the button and started the depressurization process.

Did I really want to do this? Want to tangle with the people who literally wrote the rules of bounty hunting? I could always back out; go home, contract declined. Or, alternatively, I could turn on my employer; drop a lead on the garrison doorstep.

I sighed in the thinning air. I'd come this far, violated all the airspace rules, alerted the surface batteries. I had no other choice, this had to happen. I needed the distraction to survive.

"Contract taken, acknowledge- renegotiation will be required. Massive recompense will be demanded for changing orders mid-contract." My pad buzzed once more as my contact acknowledged the transmission. Mission was a go. I sealed the helmet, engaging the internal air supply. Just in time, as the door cycled open, the water pressure pushing it open in a flash. The sudden inflow threw me out of the ship. Once my orbit stabilized, I checked the depth. 1400 meters. Deep enough to still be in darkness, too bright for most of the predators. Thank whomever.

The Primary labs, my initial target for scouting, were still below. They were easy to scout, as the kaminoans relied on the sea to keep them hidden. If the soundings I had bribed out of the representative were accurate, then all I had to do was drop the probe. It would ping the station and give me everything I needed. I signaled, and the clamp inside the cargo hatch opened, dropping the sensor suite. It was ugly, but with any luck, no one would see it.

The security garrison was on the surface, covering the batteries from a ground (sea?) assault. I swan upwards, not wanting to waste the ballast packs. Slowly, light began to trickle in. The first mark of the station I saw was a massive floatation pylon. It held the station aloft during the often severe storms of Kamino. Sadly, the assassination order came with a stipulation, no unnecessary casualties. So, I couldn't just detonate the floats and pick off survivors who floated up. No, I had to waltz through a base on lockdown, kill one or two men, and slip out without dying or killing unnecessarily.

I pushed off the float, rising to the next level. The framework of the station was too fun a target not to attach something to, just as a precaution. A few blocks of thermal paste, hooked to a closed circuit fuse, and I had an exit strategy if things got to looking like a wookie. Finally, I hit the surface, breaching right below the main hub, just in time to eat a wave. Wonderful. And of course, the walkways weren't anywhere close to the surface of the sea, no that would mean that those walking on them might get swept off in a storm.

Sadly, jet fuel and water do not mix well. They sort of explode. The kaminoans rode some sort of Ray around on the surface, which meant that there had to be a way up other than catching a glider. A blinking light caught my eye, and I dove back down towards it. It was an access panel, opening a chute that ran off the rainwater form the platform. Useless. Unless…

With an idea in mind, I reached into one of my pouches. Contained within was a reel of thin line. I hacked the control and ran the access flow backwards. I fed in a metal lead, and waited. In a small and hopefully unnoticed geyser, the spike flew out of the walkway and embedded itself somewhere. I threw the line into the air, which was high enough for the attractive forces to take root, tethering a way up. I tugged on the connection, ensuring its stability. Then, it was just a matter of climbing up. To my dismay. There was a republic scout ship on the end of the pad. Just my luck, someone was visiting the facility. I cleaned up my mess, wiping at the scratch on the red paint. Hopefully, unnoticeable.

Quickly, I slipped away from the intrusion, headed for the main lifts. My armor looked Mandolorian enough to pass the kaminoans. They wouldn't notice the lack of clan tag. Indeed, it got me past the main door. I drew a few curious looks, but no one commented. It wasn't until I was at the checkpoint for the main office that I was stopped. A blaster was against the back of my helm, and a cold voice rang out,

"State your business or perish."

"I'm here to remove the commanding officer of this facility, by force or by other means."

He prodded my helmet again. "You expect me to believe that?"

"It is the truth. I thought you'd prefer I didn't lie." I shrugged.

The blaster was pulled away, the voice exasperated. "Run up the other one, it smells better."

"Sir?" I asked hesitantly.

"You're coming with me; I'll take you to the commander." He prodded my back with the blaster and we marched to into the command center.

"Sir, I found this one wandering the halls."

"Oh really?" The commander turned to me. "Did you not ask for directions?"

He took my silence for shock. "First order of business, see what you can get away with. Simple things. Don't start with bribing officials; see if the information is public. Or if they offer tours to potential investors. Classic rookie mistake."

"What?" I asked, unable to keep quiet at his lecturing.

"You're here because I paid you to be. Yes, I ordered the contract. I needed to know the holes in our security. Now, you mentioned renegotiation due to the changes. That's good; it shows that you know the value of your work."

I pulled my blasters, trained one on his unarmored head. "I don't know what this is, but I was hired to capture you. You're coming with me."

He sighed and gestured to the woman leaning on the doorframe. With a gesture, my blasters were torn from my grip and sent flying across the room. So too was the line I shot out, as well as the darts and the flame. I was halfway to priming a thermal detonator when he flipped the desk on me.

The bounty hunter was reckless, no doubt. He had put out a series of contracts to find a good deputy for the commander of the new battalion. He had been the one to pass them all. He was not at all what he had expected. Brash and undisciplined. He had expected another Skirta, another Jango. Someone experienced, someone proven. Not this maverick. His armor wasn't even scarred or dented. Wasn't shiny. No, his missions had seen to that, but the renegade wasn't nearly as tried as he had hoped. He was however, a prickly character. When he tried to take off the helmet, he had nearly blown off his hands. Who wires explosives to the weave of their neck armor? Granted, he had to admire the trap. It wouldn't even scorch the wearer, but force help the captor. When he finally got the helmet off, the age hit him. The commander knew that his recruit was new on the radar, but he hadn't realized he was as young as the commander.

Waking up is rarely a fun experience. Oftentimes, sleep is better than facing the world. Waking up from a blunt force to the skull is less fun. I groaned as I woke, rubbed my now unarmored cranium.

"Anyone get the plates on that speeder?" A snort came from the corner, and I looked over to see a young Jedi leaning on a door.

"You're awake." I quickly spun to look at the base commander, allegedly both the target and recipient of my bounty. "Given that blunt force impacts tend to scramble the memory, I'll explain again.

I hired you to do a series of missions, to test your abilities. Frankly, I did the same for a lot of bounty hunters. They failed at some point. You however, you passed them all. There were a few that you resolved differently than I would have done, namely that business on Correlia. Do you realize how costly a slave revolt is? I digress. You passed all of my tests, now you're at my base. When I changed the contract on you, you demanded to renegotiate at completion. Since you're here, and I'm here, and I'm here because of you, contract completed. Now, what are your demands?"

Brushing aside all of the confusion and mystery, haggling credits is something I could do.

"The initial amount was for fourteen. Given the risk uptake, as well as the break in contract, I suppose 125 will do."

"I'll give you 30."

"110."

"28 and a salary." He responded

"95"

"50, access to the armory and a position in command."

"100 grand or out." I countered.

"65,000, free access to supply chains, and command of your own task force."

"Add access to side contracts, and you've got a deal."

"That, you'll have to take up with your commander." He said, grinning.

"Well Taillow, will he do?" The Jedi looked me over and frowned.

"That remains to be seen." she said dismissively. "Meet me at the sparring room in ten. Be ready to dance."

I was escorted to the room by the trooper from earlier. As I walked in, I noticed the live feed. The other members of the base were all pushing shoving, betting on the fight to come. I stepped into the ring, lightly stretching my limbs. This would not be fun at all. She ignited her blade and swung for my head. I caught it on the bracers and moved to attack, only to see the blade flying at my knees. Damn, she was fast. Quickly, I leapt the cerulean light. Again she swung a slow blow at my side. I blocked with the other bracer, starting to get a hang of this game. Her next swing was faster, aimed again at my face. I ducked the sword and punched out. She gracefully stepped my blow and angled her sword down. It took all my fledging acrobatic might to flip over the blade, but I managed to do it, barely staying upright on the landing. I was to out of place to attack. She took a step back, ready to gauge my offenses. I ducked and lunged, aiming to hit her gut. She batted my blow away with the hilt of her lightsaber and swung inwards. I raised a shin up to catch the blow, barely holding the sword on the edge of the guard. Her own open palm strike caught me by surprise and sent me flying backwards.

I hit the wall and rebounded, scrambling to my feet as she advanced: sword holding the upward position. I fell into stance, ready for her strike to come. She started with a down slash, blocked by the arm guard, which flowed to a horizontal, again blocked. I lashed out with my foot, driving her back. She flipped back from the blow, regaining her feet easily. I saw the barest, tiniest hint of a smile on her face. Down slash, uppercut, knee strike, the blows rained in, one after the other. In this case, offense was the best defense, as I had no opportunity to do anything. Finally, she doubled her grip and swung overhead, intent on cleaving me in two.

Copying a move I had only read about, I stepped into the blow. I crossed my arms, catching the blade on the pair of arm guards. I let my body be pushed down some before springing back up, throwing off the blade and lashing out in a fore kick. She looked surprised at the force, eyes going wide as her lightsaber flew out of her hands and she flew back. I caught the falling saber, holding it as one would any other sword. It was lighter than I had thought it would be. The thing barely weighed a kilo. From her downed position, she surged forwards with a force push **.** I flew back, denting the wall this time. She closed her sword and clipped it to her belt.

"You'll do. Report to Commander Sol for assignment." She addressed. "Oh, and welcome to Nox."


End file.
